Many times it is desirable to keep a perishable or non-perishable product cooled or warmed, for example, in a store before purchase, in order to extend the shelf life of the product and because consumers want to consume the product in a cooled or heated state. Such products may include, for example, cartons or bottles of juice, milk, water, or other liquids. Traditional refrigeration units and ovens are often used to keep the products cooled or warmed. Such traditional units are often complex systems that include having to pump fluids or gases throughout the system and that include using complex compressors and heat exchangers. These units often consume relatively large amounts of power to provide cooling or heating of the products.
Often these refrigeration and heating units are enclosed structures having doors or lids that must be opened by a customer in order to pull the product out of the unit. Also, many times, these refrigeration and heating units are large and are located towards the back of a store where there is access to higher power sources.
It is desirable to provide a system and method for storing a product in a thermally stabilized state (e.g., a cooled state or a heated state) at a check-out counter of a store such that a potential customer may simply reach and pull a unit of the product out of the system without having to open a door or a lid, and without the product having to be dispensed.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems and methods with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.